What: Connects students with “teachers” of art, music, foreign languages, crafts and other skills
Expected pay: You set it
Commissions & Fees: Graduated, 10% to 40%
Where: Nationwide
Requirements: Over 18; smart phone; bank account; a computer and a webcam, if you want to teach students online
Review:
PROS:
- Teachers set their own rates (Some lessons were listed at rates of $70 or more per lesson)
- You can teach anything
- Registration is free
- Rates are adjustable
- Option to teach in person
CONS:
- Site charges high commission cuts (starts at 40%)
- Commission schedule is hard to find
- App can be buggy
- High fees
- Somewhat poor customer service
How It Works:
Teach your trade through TakeLessons. TakeLessons connects teachers of music, art, dance, and language with students desiring to learn the field.
Registration for teachers is free, but when you book a new student, the site takes a large portion of your pay. Commission structure is graduated from 40% when you have a new student, who has completed 5 or fewer lessons. Site’s commission is cut 30% for that same student’s 6th through 10th lessons; 20% for the 11th through 15th lesson; and 10% when the same student takes more than 15 lessons.
You can partially offset the site’s cut by charging more because you set your own rate. Teachers can adjust their rates, but not for existing students. You are obligated to charge the old rate until the student stops taking lessons or stops paying regularly. If a student cancels, and later comes back, the new rate is charged. You also have the option of teaching in person.
The site’s high commission cuts are a significant negative. The commission schedule is disclosed, but hard to find because they were hidden in the internal help pages, and the site highlighted the lowest commission in the big print. It felt misleading.
There were complaints that the app is buggy, sometimes failing to send student booking requests to teachers; and there were poor customer service communications. Biggest complaints were from tutors are about the high fees.
Other online platforms charge less to connect you with students. Our suggestion for teachers of music, drama, dance and acting check out LessonFace, scoring higher for both technology and costs. Other tutoring sites that are worth a look: Chelsea International Education and Wyzant.
What Tutors Say: (From Glassdoor)
I have been working at TakeLessons part-time for more than 5 years
Pros
Students can find you and leave you reviews on your profile.
Cons
TakeLessons takes a HUGE cut of lessons, and never stops taking that cut no matter how long you teach each student.
I have been working at TakeLessons part-time
Pros
I manage my classes when I want then and how I want them
Cons
the commission rate is so high I have to raise the amount a student pays so I can make a money
I have been working at TakeLessons for more than a year
Pros
make your own hours, set your own rate, pays every week, easy to use, teach anything you want
Cons
only lesson packages available. No trial lessons
